The Past is Real
by DragonandthePhoenix03
Summary: A chilling phone call sends Team One in a race against time to save one of their own- if they're not already too late. CHAPTER 13 IS UP
1. Five Minutes

**5:30**.

The clock's illuminated numbers glowed red in the dark bedroom. Jules Callaghan rolled over to be greeted with the time, and she greeted it back with her own sleepy groan. It was the Monday after a very busy weekend off, and while no one loved her job the way Jules loved hers, even she got a case of the Mondays every once in a while. Today was one of those days, especially since she had to go into work this morning by herself.

She laid in bed a minute longer, face up, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the day would bring. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the figure beside her finally begin to stir and didn't even want to fight the grin forming on her lips. He let out a sleepy sigh and rolled over, draping an arm over her stomach and snuggling against her. "Morning," he mumbled groggily as he rubbed his cheek against her shoulder.

"Good morning," she greeted back, the smile clear in voice. Jules reached a hand up and ran a few fingers through his short, blonde hair, meriting a soft moan from him and a chuckle from her lips. "I thought you didn't have to wake up early today?"

"I don't," he responded quietly, still groggy from sleep. "You woke me up." Sam finally opened his eyes and looked up at the sexy sniper chick who changed his world only a short few years ago. Even in the dim light of their bedroom, his blue orbs could make out the shape of her chin, the curve of her lips. Now he was grinning too as he tilted his head to press a kiss to her neck.

Jules smirked at that, leaning her own head away from him. "Not true and you know it!" Of course, they both knew he was joking. The whole thing was so simple with Sam, so easy. Despite having to hide from their team for the longest time, when everything was stripped away and it was just 'Sam and Jules,' the two of them being, it was the most natural thing in the world.

Sam kissed her neck again, this time his tongue slipping out and making contact with her skin a second before his lips did. "You know," he began between kisses, moving his lips from her neck to her shoulder, down her arm. "Since I've got a little free time this morning.." More kisses. "Why don't you call in sick? At least for a half day. We can go in together after my dentist appointment." A pause, a grin. "Or not."

With every kiss, her eyes drooped a little more, and the smile on her face grew softer. He drove a hard bargain, especially on a day like today. Had she been any other woman, Jules would have cancelled the next week of shifts and spent every moment with him in this bed. At the same time, had she been any other woman, Sam wouldn't have fallen for her. Despite his persuasion, he predicted the words that would come out of her mouth.

"Sarge isn't an idiot, Sam. He'd smell the lie a mile away!" Sam noticed that she didn't push him away, though, and with a grin, he continued the trail of kisses to her belly. Using a hand, he tugged on his shirt she wore, pulling it up enough to expose the soft skin to his mouth. At first contact, she _sighed_- yes, actually _sighed_. He loved the sound, and couldn't help the chuckle that rumbled against her. Jules' hand returned to his head, stroking gently against his scalp, and both were overwhelmed by just how right it felt to be together.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Jules spoke up. "Okay. Five minutes."

Sam grinned and threw the comforter over them both.


	2. Later

"So much for five minutes," Sam muttered in an amused tone as he glanced from the digital clock on his right to the beautiful- and slightly sweaty- woman underneath him. Jules' head snapped to the side to read the time quickly.

**6:14**.

"Shit! Sam!" she cursed and pushed hard against his chest, forcing Sam off of her. He allowed his body to fall back on the bed, thoroughly enjoying seeing Julianna Callaghan so flustered. Jules slipped away from him, taking a sheet with her as he laid there in silent laughter.

Silhouetted in the light from the adjoining bathroom, Sam caught sight of the curve of her toned rear and licked his lips unconsciously before she pulled the cloth to cover herself fully. Jules glared back at him once more before scurrying off to shower and head off to work. He grinned at the sound her little feet made, pitter-pattering on the hardwood floor, followed by the slam of the bathroom door. There was no doubt that he was in trouble, and only when their shift was over was he going to get it. And he would gladly take with a smile whatever punishment she deemed fit, because this was Jules. Better to get it over with than let her stew about it for days on end!

It wasn't often that he could persuade Jules into such early morning activities._ 'Just because we're allowed to remain on the team doesn't mean the Commander can't change that in a second. No distractions before shift. I mean it, Sam. We fought too hard for each other and our jobs to mess it up now.'_ He understood and respected her dedication, and Sam held his own job in a similar regard. But the former rookie still had a tendency towards breaking the rules. It was hard to not want to break them when he thought about Jules trying to cool herself off in the shower- almost as hard as it was to hold back from joining her.

Her words rang true, though._ Can't distract each other. Priority of life._ With a gentle sigh, Sam shifted himself more in place on his side of the bed, a blanket just covering his hips. If he went back to sleep now, he could get an hour more of shuteye before he had to be up to get ready for to the dentist...

Underneath his bed, under a pile of clothes, Sam's phone buzzed three times, but he didn't hear it. Sometime the night before, a free limb must have knocked it to the ground. At the moment, the phone, and whoever was on the other end, was the furthest thing from his mind.

His eyes were closed by the time Jules reentered the room with her street clothes on. Blonde lashes fanned over his cheeks, protecting those baby blue eyes from the darkness around him. Jules smiled to herself and approached the bed. There were some days, like this morning, when he drove her right to the edge. No one had ever gotten under her skin the way Sam Braddock had. Even when they were upset with each other, Jules had never felt such passion towards or from another person. It was better for him not to know that yet, so for now, she would keep that her own secret. Leaning over, she brushed a finger against his forehead before kissing his skin gently.

"See you at the barn," he mumbled without opening his eyes, only half-conscious.

"See you later," she whispered back, and left Sam to his sleep and her to her truck. There was a spring in her step today, and Jules had no idea why. There was just this feeling that maybe this Monday wouldn't be that bad after all.

* * *

**A/N**: _Oh, Jules, if you only knew what's in store..._ Thank you for all the positive reviews! I really was kinda nervous about ever going to FF and posting a story, especially in a fandom I'm relatively new to, but the reception on the first chapter was more than I ever expected. :) These upcoming chapters are gonna get longer, but hang in there with me! And say goodbye to the fluff.


	3. Mode of Transportation

**6:57**.

The dark colored jeep pulled up to the shiny building of the Toronto Strategic Response Unit just before seven. How Jules arrived there in the time that she did was nothing short of a miracle. Chalk it up to angels or whatever supernatural beings were out there, but someone was smiling down at her.

She entered the building quickly, hoping to get dressed and in the weight room before one of her teammates noticed, but no dice.

"Hey! I was just beginning to think that you were playing hooky too," a teasing male voice called from behind.

"Morning, Sarge," Jules grinned and turned around to face her superior. "Not late; just lost track of time in the shower." _Damn that Sam!_ She cursed inwardly. Here she was facing the crap for _him_ making her late while he was at home still in bed! Sam had the excuse of the dentist, and she had nothing to blame but her own inability to resist him and his pillow-soft lips. Not exactly an excuse she could use with her boss…

"Calgon, take me away?" Ed joked as he approached the pair. "Hey, Jules. Glad you could join us." He nudged at her shoulder with his elbow, and she elbowed him right back in the ribs. "Oomph! What did I say?"

"Jules! Where's Sam the man?" a third voice piped up. Looking over, Jules discovered that Spike had joined the group, with Raf not far behind.

"Dentist."

"So you let him fend for himself?" Spike gaped in mock horror, having noticed her car outside.

"Making the man walk after a dentist appointment. Phew, that's cold," Raf shuddered. The others nodded in agreement at the lone female.

The smirk on Jules' face grew, and she shrugged as she started for the locker room to change. "Eh, he has his ten-speed..." Jules stepped inside the locker room to change, and through the thick walls, she could hear the laughter from Team One.

XXXXX

**8:37**.

"So, Sam, how's the General?" the dentist was asking as he scraped away at the man's teeth. Dentists annoyed Sam. Yes, he understood dental health, and how it was important to prevent cavities and gum disease and all that. For a lot of people, the quickest way to turn them off was a dirty smile (not the fun kind of dirty smile, mind you). He had no quarrel with getting bi-yearly check ups to ensure his pearly whites stayed pearly and white. That wasn't the problem.

No, what Sam hated was that the dentist always waited until he had six pieces of pointy metal, a mini mirror on a stick, a water sprayer and suction tube in a patient's mouth before asking a million questions. How was he supposed to speak when he could barely breathe?! Sam scowled up at the man, unable and unwilling to answer. Out of all the topics in the world, his father wasn't something he'd willingly talk about- except on the job.

Oblivious to the cold blue glare of his patient, the doctor continued working; he went on about his kids and his kids' kids, and Sam was rapidly regretting not bringing his iPod in with him. If he could just reach enough to grab his iPhone, at least he could play with some of the ringtones or something- _anything_ to drone Dr. Gilbert out.

He stretched carefully, doing his best not to interrupt the doctor's work- or worse- cause the man to slip and cut off his tongue or something. Sam felt his fingers wrap around his phone in his pocket and slowly, he pulled it out. That's when he saw it- the text message he had missed during the morning's extracurricular activity. The words forced a knot in his stomach.

Without care for his cleaning now, Sam sat up abruptly, knocking away the tools from his mouth.

"What are you doing?" The doctor exclaimed as the dental hygienist scrambled to pick up the now-contaminated gear off the floor.

"Do I have any cavities?" he asked frankly.

"Well, no but I haven't gotten a cha-"

"Great, thank you," Sam nodded and slipped out of the room, pocketing his phone. He stopped only to take care of the co-pay from his appointment at the front desk and tell the secretary to call to set up the next one. Stepping out into the summer heat, he began walking, leaving the bike behind.

* * *

**A/N**: Who was the text from? More importantly, who's going to retrieve that poor abandoned bike?! As always, your reviews put me on cloud nine! :D


	4. Some Calls Are Best Left Unanswered

**A/N**: My favorite part about your reviews was finding out just how many of you hate the dentist! Welcome to the club! We meet every Wednesday- bring a sugary treat to share! ;)

Before we get started, many thanks to BeautifulFghtr, who has continued to correct my grammar, spelling and usage nearly every day for the past two years. Extra besos to SYuuri for feeding my Sam Braddock addiction!

I suppose it's time for shit to hit the fan, eh?

* * *

"Wordy isn't even here, and we're still watching this crap?" Ed groaned and rolled his eyes at the screen from his seat at the elliptical. As per usual, there were only two people in the room who recognized the movie playing- and only one who actually wanted to watch it. "Who put this on?"

On the suspended television in the SRU exercise room, Jennifer Lopez was trying on a fancy coat at Marissa Matrone's encouragement. It wasn't exactly something to motivate and get the blood pumping. All eyes fell on the only female in the room.

"Maid in Manhattan, really?" Jules raised a skeptic, unamused brow, proving her innocence with that single look.

"Man, who has the remote? There's gotta be else on," Raf set the barbell he was working out with back on its rack so he could look for the device that could change the channel.

"Hey! Marina wants to watch this tonight," Greg quickly jumped to defend himself. He grabbed the remote from in front of him and held it to his chest as he continued to jog on the treadmill. The action earned the snickers from his teammates. "She always wants to _talk_ about these movies when they're over, but I have a hard time focusing-"

"-When she's so close?" Ed finished for him. Greg's cheeks flushed and he shook his head defiantly, but no verbal correction was made to the statement.

"Boss, that's what Wikipedia's for," Spike grinned from over the pull-up bar before quietly huffing out "37… 38…"

"Yeah, well we aren't all technologically savvy like you, Mr. Scarlatti."

"Guess I'm just lucky then."

"That's one way to put it," Ed smirked and the rest of the team jeered.

In the midst of all their laughter and banter, Jules felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Slowing her speed on the stationary bike, she reached and pulled out the vibrating device, recognizing the number immediately. With a grin, she hit the SEND button to answer. "Hey! How'd the appointment go? Still have all your teeth?" For a moment, she glanced down at her watch and frowned. He should be here by now. "Where are you?"

Instead of Sam's warm voice on the other end, Jules was greeted with muffled, heavy breathing. "Sam?" she spoke louder this time, coming to a complete stop on the bike. Jules waved her hand to her teammates in the gym to cut the noise for a second so she could hear the caller better. Spike let go of the overhead bar and jumped down, and the Sarge dialed down the tv as Ed moved closer.

Greg motioned silently if things were alright, not wanting to pry. Ed, on the other hand, had never been one for charades. "What's going on?" he asked flat out, not liking the look on her face.

"I don't know," she mumbled with her hand over the receiver as she slid off the exercise equipment. "It's Sam's phone, but he's not responding… Sam? Sam, you there?" she spoke into the phone once more, and still only heard silence. For just a second, the thought crossed her mind that maybe the idiot had butt dialed her or something. It certainly wouldn't be the first time! How many times would she have to remind Sam to take his phone out of his back pocket before he got on his bike?!

The idea was quickly squashed when she picked up on the sound of a woman on the other end. _"Is this Jules?"_ the voice whispered harshly- panicked, as if it was afraid of being caught.

"Yes, this is Jules.. Who is this? Where's Sam?" Jules glanced confused to Greg. All action in the room had stopped. The attention had shifted to the call that had interrupted their morning workout, and the entire group now stood huddled around the female.

As soon as she knew she didn't recognize the voice, Jules turned up the speaker and held it away from her ear- just in time for the mystery woman with Sam's phone to speak again.

_"You've got to get here fast, okay? He's lost a lot of bloo-"_ the woman's desperate plea was cut off by shouts.

Jules tensed up, her whole body on full alert, as were the men around her. "Hello? Are you still there?" she tried not to sound upset, but at this point, it was hard not to. "Ma'm? Who's lost a lot of blood? Where are you?"

The attempts at communication were useless. No response.

XXXXX

On the other end of the line, the woman who had placed the hurried call gasped loudly and dropped the phone from her hand. During her attempt to get help, the attacker had returned- this time with a pistol shoved between her eyes.

"Down on the ground, hands behind your head. Do it now!" the unidentified man snapped at her. The woman whimpered, frightened, and did as she was told. Mindful of the call still in progress on the phone, she fell to her knees and shielded the sight from the gunman.

The woman glanced over once at the man on the ground beside her. He was sprawled out, face down and deathly still. His sandy blonde hair was matted together in parts from a fresh head wound. She wondered if he still had a pulse, but fear kept her from checking on him properly.

"Who did you just try to call? Huh?!" the gunman snapped at her, drawing the woman's attention back to him.

"N-n-nobody," she stammered out, an obvious lie to everyone in the room. Her attacker glared down at her and took a step closer, pressing the cold metal further into her skin. Although she was petrified, the woman still managed to find the strength to shuffle her knees just slightly to the right, towards the unconscious man. Her body was between the two men, protecting one from the other. But just how long that would last, she didn't know.

XXXXX

Back at the barn, Team One was already in action. The moment things began to escalate on the other end of the phone call, the SRU's top tactical group began to gear up. Winnie fed the call into their headsets so they could listen as the trucks were packed. There was still no ID on the caller or the aggressor on the other end, nor was there any sign of Sam. Jules' heart raced in her chest as she went over the details of her morning. Did anything seem out of sorts? Not that she would know since Sam didn't get up until after she left. Dammit!

_"We're going to try this one more time," _the threatening voice came through muffled on the headset. _"Who were you calling, Rebecca?"_ Immediately, orders were barked out for Winnie to find any connection between Sam and a Rebecca, though with no last name and no frame of reference, the search would be futile. They needed more information…

_"No one!"_ the woman's startled voice returned, and Jules uncharacteristically winced. That was clearly not the answer the captor wanted; if the woman wanted to keep herself alive, she needed to start thinking clearly. The fear was controlling her, and that was about to make the whole situation worse.

_"Wrong again,_" came the dark voice once more, followed by a woman's scream.

_"SAM, NO!"_

Three shots rang out before the call disconnected.

Standing at her open truck door, Julianna Callaghan froze.

* * *

**A/N**: Well, thanks to the mysterious Rebecca and an even more mysterious angry man, Sam's day just went from bad to worse. Bet if he could do some wishing right now, he'd be wishing he was back in the dentist's chair!


	5. Who's Rebecca?

**A/N**: Jam fans are the best kind of Flashpoint fans!

Thank you for all the positive (and hilarious) reviews! Special gracias to BeautifulFghtr and SYuuri, as always.

* * *

The popping of gunfire in her headset caused Jules' body to flinch in surprise, followed by all her muscles seizing up tight. Putting a finger to her ear, she pushed against the speaker, trying to hear something, anything, that would tell her that the situation wasn't as dark as the images in her mind. There was nothing but dead air.

"_Rebecca?"_ Jules heard the Sarge say. _"Rebecca, this is Sargent Greg Parker of the Police Strategic Response Unit. Can you tell me what just happened?"_

No response.

"_Shit,"_ hissed someone. It sounded like Raf.

"_Boss…"_ Ed's voice.

"_Call dropped. Did we get a lock on the GPS?"_ Greg again.

"_Negative, Boss."_ Spike. _"Call didn't last long enough."_

"_Dammit! … Jules, you with us?"_ Her head turned in the direction of the voice. The Sarge was standing on the other side of the truck- driver's side, watching her reaction.

There was a pause as Jules had to consciously force herself to speak. "Yeah, Boss. We taking this one?"

"Affirmative."

It took only two seconds for the vehicles of Team One to scream out of the station into the Toronto sun.

XXXXX

While on the road, Greg began assigning team members jobs to do. His hope was to throw out a lot of lines and get at least a nibble about their missing team member. "Spike, I need you to get Natalie on the phone. See if she knows any Rebecca and find out what her connection is to Sam."

"On it, Boss," Spike affirmed before whipping out his phone and dialing the number for Sam's sister by heart.

"Winnie, patch this through to the headset. I want all ears on this call."

"_Copy that." _Within moments, every member of Team One was impatiently waiting for answers. On the second to last ring, the call connected as the youngest Braddock answered.

XXXXX

"_Hello?"_

"Nat?"

"_Spike!"_ Her voice was always full of this life and brightness. The baby of the family, Natalie had been too young to experience the loss of her older sister. She had been too young to suffer through the pain her brother and the rest of her family did. As a result, there was no cloud over her head, and her sunny, albeit spoiled, disposition was a blessing, especially to Spike. It was one of the things that had initially attracted him to her. _"You haven't changed your mind about it being you, have you?"_

"No, of course not, Natalie. Still definitely me." A bashful, unintentional grin appeared on the Italian's face, and it rang through in his tone.

"_Spike…"_ the Sarge's warning crackled through on the radio at the same time he felt the heat coming from Jules' disapproving glare, breaking Spike from him momentarily lapse in professionalism.

"Right. Hey, do you know a Rebecca?"

There was a beat of silence before she let out a laugh. Spike furrowed his brow, but as he went to ask, she finally answered him. _"Spike, have you been checking up on me?"_

More confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"_Sam mentioned to you that he saw me, didn't he?"_

Jules felt her skin grow cold just at the mention of his name. Sam hadn't said anything about going to see his sister this morning. Granted, it wasn't his job to check in with her every second of his day, but she was embarrassed to be caught off-guard like this.

"Where did you see Sam?" Spike asked cautiously, not wanting to jump to conclusions until he got all the facts. Even he had a bad feeling about this, though.

Now Natalie was puzzled. It sounded like he didn't know- but if he hadn't, he wouldn't know to ask her. _"Um, I was at Becca's house this morning when Sam showed up," _she answered matter-of-factly.

"….Becca, like _Rebecca_?"

"_Yeah, Rebecca Walsh. Why?"_

Raf immediately looked to Spike, who glanced to him at the same time. Jules took in a breath and turned to Greg, who was wearing an obvious grimace while keeping his eyes on the road. Ed's hands tightened on the wheel of his SUV. "Son of a bitch," the team leader cursed under his breath.

"_Spike, what's going on?"_ Natalie asked worried.

"What time did he get there?"

* * *

**A/N**: Who's Rebecca?! Lemme know your guesses in the reviews!


	6. Blueberry Muffins

**A/N**: I don't own Flashpoint! If I did, it wouldn't be ending this season and we'd have a butt ton more of Sam/Special Forces flashbacks.

As always, thank you for all the positive and entertaining reviews! Props to BeautifulFghtr and SYuuri for putting up with my insanity on a daily basis.

* * *

"What time did he get there?"

"_Around nine-ish, I think? Why?"_ Natalie sounded distracted, like she knew she needed to be answering these questions but had a few of her own she wanted to ask.

"Did he say why he was there to see her?" Spike rattled off, refusing to give anything up yet. This didn't concern her. Well, yes it did, but they needed Natalie calm with a clear mind in order to find their missing teammate.

"_I didn't really ask; didn't think I needed to. They've known each other for years."_

XXXXX

"Winnie?" Greg spoke into the radio.

"_I got a number and an address for Rebecca Walsh, sending it your way now."_

"Thank you, Winnie," he mumbled. All at once, the caravan of vehicles changed their course to the street number in their PDA.

"Five minutes out, Boss," Ed announced as he switched lanes, watching the identical SRU vehicles follow his lead.

"Copy that, Eddie. Winnie, what do we got on this Rebecca Walsh?"

"_Rebecca Walsh, 31,"_ Winnie read off the computer screen in front of her. She scrolled quickly through the information, but nothing jumped off the page at her. _"Unemployed. No priors. Actually, there's not much here about her. One son, Ben. He's five years old."_

"Boyfriend, husband? Any roommate?"

"_Negative. Looks like just her and the boy."_

"That's a nice neighborhood, Boss," Raf commented.

"-Which makes you wonder how she can afford a place there with no income. Yeah. Thanks Winnie. Keep digging to see if you find anything else."

"_I'm on it."_

"Hey, Team. Possible child on the premises. Male, age five. Proceed with caution. Winnie, I want EMS on scene."

"_Got it, Sarge. Dispatching emergency services now."_

XXXXX

"Natalie, what can you tell me about this morning?"

"_Um, I don't know,"_ she scoffed a bit, finding the whole thing odd. _"I always go to see Rebecca every Monday morning. I bring coffee, she makes breakfast, we catch up…"_

"Anything different about today?"

"_Well, Sam showing up. I was surprised to see him, yeah, but she didn't seem to be."_

"Rebecca wasn't surprised to see Sam."

"_That's what I just said,"_ she rolled her eyes at the echo.

XXXXX

**Earlier that Day**

XXXXX

"Knock, knock!" Natalie peeked her head around the back door that led into the kitchen, calling out for some attention.

"Nat!" a female voice exclaimed, followed by the sound of footsteps moving into room. Natalie was greeted by the sight of the owner of the house moving quickly to the door to welcome her visitor. The woman had rusty red hair, pulled up in a messy bun, and the sleeves of a modest yellow top were rolled up to her elbows. She wrapped her arms around Natalie, giving a slight squeeze before letting go.

"Becca," Natalie grinned, taking both hands with her own. "I haven't seen you this happy in a long time! What is going on?"

Rebecca only gave a sly, secretive grin, causing the other woman to laugh and guide them both to their seats at the table. "Come on, spill! You've never been good at keeping secrets, and I know you're _dying_ to tell me whatever it is you know," Natalie insisted.

"Hungry?" was all the answer Natalie got as her host rose up to bring a basket of muffins over to the table. She slid the array of freshly baked treats towards the other woman, and Natalie rolled her eyes with a groan. Eventually, she took a blueberry muffin for herself; Rebecca took a chocolate one.

As she popped the first bite into her mouth, Natalie narrowed her eyes at the figure across the table. "Are you ever going to tell me?"

"Do you always ask so many questions before breakfast?"

"Don't you know me at all?"

Both women laughed, but their laughter was quickly interrupted by the sound of the door from the outside opening again and a familiar male voice.

"Becs? I got here as soon as I-" Sam stopped in his tracks, hand still on the doorframe, gaping at the image of his little sister. "Uh, hi, Nat."

"Hi, Sammy!" she tossed back. Natalie chuckled at the startled look on her brother's face. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were disappointed to see me!"

It was then that the youngest Braddock turned her head back to the other female in the room. Rebecca's expression was unreadable as she looked at Sam, which Natalie found to be strange.

There was a long, deliciously awkward pause before Rebecca spoke up. "Um, hey, Nat, I am so sorry. I just realized I can't do breakfast this morning. Raincheck for tomorrow?" she asked earnestly.

XXXXX

"So, Sam just shows up and she asks you to leave?"

Greg looked over at Jules, giving a concerned look that she had just interjected in the call like that. Natalie wasn't supposed to know that the whole team was listening. Like a true Braddock, though, it didn't seem to faze her.

"_Hey Jules! And yeah, it was kinda weird. But they have always been closer than Becca and me, so I just figured I'd bug Sammy for details about it later."_

Jules frowned, mumbled something under her breath in a huff and looked out the window. The Sarge silently wondered just how well she would be able to handle this case. Maybe the truck would be a good place to keep her until they got Sam back.

"Anything else you can remember?" Spike asked.

"_Not that I can think of, but I'll call if I do. Now can you tell me if everything's okay?"_

Spike fumbled, but after the okay from Greg via radio, he relented. "Sam didn't show up to work today, and since we're not busy, we're just looking for him." It wasn't the whole truth, but for now, that was what she would know.

"_Oh."_

"Yeah."

"_Well, give me a call when you find him? Or when you're not busy…"_ her tone softened at the end, and Spike grinned once more, only slightly this time.

"You got it, Nat. Thanks."

Almost as soon as the call ended, Rebecca Walsh's listed address came into view. Team One parked and piled out of their cars, grabbing equipment and whispering in hushed tones who would do what- Spike and Greg through the front, Ed and Raf stealth through the rear.

"…And Jules in the truck," Greg finished, gaining an exasperated look from the female. She wasn't going to argue, though. They all trusted the Sarge implicitly, and if he thought she would best serve the team- and Sam- in the truck, she would do it.

"I'll call the Dr. Gilbert's office to see if Sam ever made it to his appointment," she announced and turned to climb into the back of the truck. As well as making the calls, she would run command post, though Jules doubted they would be here long.

Greg dialed the number for Rebecca's house- with no answer. Next was her cell phone, and again, there was only silence. Finally, he tried Sam one last time- - the call went straight to voicemail. With all attempts at communication fruitless, he motioned to Spike, and they both approached the front door. Raf and Ed silently gestured that they were heading into position in the back, and they had found a good spot just as Greg raised his hand on the door.

He knocked three times then yelled through the wooden barrier. "Rebecca, this is the police. Open up." No answer.

"Guys?" he spoke into the radio.

"_Got eyes in the kitchen,"_ Ed answered.

"A lot of windows," Raf added. He panned his eyes over the area for clues_. _"Those muffins Natalie mentioned are still sitting on the table. Looks like somebody just up and left."

"_Any sign of life in there?"_

"No movements inside yet, Boss, but the lights are on." Lights still on with no one home could indicate that someone was in a hurry- or worse, someone was still inside, hiding. Ed reached out and put his hand on the knob, trying it on a whim. Surprisingly, he felt no resistance, and the door creaked open easily enough.

"Boss, back door was left unlocked."

"Alright, Eddie," Greg acknowledged, nodding to Spike to get into position behind the bushes in case their movements flushed out the suspect. "Proceed with caution. Whoever's inside, we don't want to scare them into doing something they'll regret."

"Copy that," Ed responded. Raf set in position as Ed pushed the door the rest of the way open. Silently, the pair slipped into the house, whispering updates as they went.

"_Kitchen clear."_

"_Bathroom's clear."_

"_Living room's clear."_

"_Lower level's clear, Boss. We're gonna check out upstairs."_

"Copy that, Raf." Greg responded as his teammate pulled the front door open. At his urging, Spike spilled inside to give the other two men cover. He would stay behind- again, in case someone managed to get past them.

"Jules, what'd you find out?"

"_Receptionist said that Sam showed up early for his cleaning like he always does, but he rushed out before the doctor could finish,"_ Jules reported from inside the command truck_. "He took the time to pay for the work before leaving, so he couldn't have been in that much of a hurry. I can check his phone records to see if there was anything to pull him away."_

"Good idea. Let me know what you find."

"Got it, Boss." Something had caused Sam to leave before he was supposed to, and the scenarios running through Jules' head made her sick. She pulled up the site for Sam's phone plan and started hacking her way into his online account.

XXXXX

Inside the house, Spike was stationed at the bottom of the stairs, watching Raf and Ed as they carefully approached the upper level.

"Lights are on up here too, Boss," Raf whispered, and at the top, the two men split up to check each wing.

"I got a child's bedroom here. The one room with its lights off," Ed relayed, swinging the flashlight at the end of his gun back and forth, looking for clues. "The boy's not here, Boss. Room's clear."

"_Ed…"_ Raf's voice cracked through on the headset. _"I got something."_

"Talk to me, Raf," Greg urged from outside as Ed moved quickly to join him.

Sitting on the floor just before the master bedroom was a cell phone. A single bullet had been put through the screen where Jules' face had once been displayed.

"I found Sam's cell phone."

* * *

**A/N**: Dun dun DUN! ... That's all I got.


	7. An Unseeable Sight

**A/N**: I don't own anything, but Sam Braddock can own my body if he wants.

Extra love to SYuuri cause I'm uploading this on her birthday! WOOOOOO.

* * *

"_I found Sam's cell phone."_

The moment Raf's words carried over the radio and into her ears, Jules sat up straighter. So _that_ was why he hadn't been answering- he didn't have it with him. It was here, at some strange woman's house. A woman Jules had never heard of. A woman Sam didn't want her to know about. A woman he had kept secret from her. A woman who used his phone to call his girlfriend in time to hear him get shot at.

Before Jules could dwell on that any longer, the online system gave her access to his phone records. After scrolling only a few lines down, there it was- 6:17 AM. A text message had been sent from Rebecca's phone to his. Unfortunately, the records didn't track what the messages said; such information would take much more effort to find, but Jules didn't really need much more than that. This other woman had sent _her_ boyfriend a text message- only moments after Jules herself had left _their_ bed to get ready for work…

XXXXX

Raf snapped a picture of the phone where it laid before leaning down and picking it up. It had been a clean shot, the bullet going straight through the piece of technology into the floor. He lifted it higher to show to Ed, who only nodded and motioned to the door on their left. It was the master bedroom, and the door was closed. Slipping the phone into his pocket, Raf rearmed himself and got into position as Ed put his hand on the door.

A nod passed between them before Ed pulled the door open and Raf moved quickly inside. The team leader followed- weapons ready to threaten anything that moved. They were greeted with an empty room.

Well, that and a pool of blood at the foot of the bed.

XXXXX

The bedspread was stained with fresh blood, and there was crimson splattered on the back wall. One of the pillows was on the floor, stripped of its slipcover. It also had a bloody handprint on it, probably left over from when someone pulled the case off of the pillow. Ed moved in slowly and knelt down, examining the puddle that had all but soaked into the carpet.

"Boss, the master bedroom's empty too, but there's a lot of blood up here," Raf informed as Ed pulled out a vile and took a sample. It would be sent off to the lab for results- results that he somehow knew wouldn't be in their favor. As Raf watched him, he couldn't help but shudder. Knowing that this was probably the blood of their own team mate splashed around the room was enough to make a person sick. For Sam's sake, he would wait until after shift to fully express his disgust. For now, he had to stay objective. They all did.

At the bottom of the stairs, Spike's eyes flew even wider open. _Blood?_ They had expected it, of course, after that phone call, but… There was a difference from hearing and seeing. "I'm coming up!" he announced. His demand was quickly shot down by the team leader.

"Hold your ground, Spike," Ed commanded; he quickly dropped his voice to a quiet tone. "You don't wanna see this."

Spike frowned and glanced out the still-open front door at the boss. The pair exchanged worried glances. Based on the phone call they received, a male had lost a lot of blood. It was a reasonable assumption to believe that male to be Sam since it was Jules the woman had called.

For just a moment, Team One's thoughts went to the solitary team member in the command truck.

XXXXX

Inside in front of the computer, Jules was having a hard time accepting everything that had happened. Secret text, secret meeting with secret girl, mysterious call, gun shots, blood. Everything that had occurred with her boyfriend had happened behind her back. And now, he was missing. They had no clues. Worse still, _she_ had no clue whether he was dead or alive. For just a moment, Jules pressed the heels of her hands against her closed eyes. A slew of silent curses slipped from her lips as she let herself react to what was happening. As quick as it started, it was over, and cold-as-ice Jules was back in control.

"Winnie, were there any 911 calls made in the area this morning?" she asked.

There was the sound of typing as Winnie looked up the request. "Ahhh, negative. Nothing within a 2 block radius."

"Boss, isn't it a little weird that no one called this in?"

"That's good thinking, Jules. Let's go knock on some doors."

"Copy that."

* * *

**A/N**: Anyone else find it fishy that the neighborhood is so silent? It's a good thing Jules got that phone call, or they may have never known something happened!


	8. Dog Tags

**A/N**: Flashpoint is mine! (Pfft, I wish.) I don't own anything except my absolute excitement at how well this story is being received by you guys! Thank you for all your reviews! As a writer, there's nothing I love more than making the wheels in people's minds turn, and I love reading what you guys think is going to happen next!

* * *

Greg and Jules spent a good 15 minutes walking up and down the street, knocking on doors. Of the houses they visited, only one person was home. One person! A mother and her twin baby girls, but according to her grocery receipt, the woman was in the checkout line at the supermarket when the shots were fired. So, they were back to square one. Nothing.

"Are you telling me that nobody in the whole damn neighborhood was home this morning?" Ed cursed in disbelief and frustration into his headset. While the first two were checking out the street, Ed and Raf were exploring the crime scene looking for clues. Spike was downstairs doing the same.

Jules let out a heavy sigh. _"The one woman we did find to interview just missed the action. She said she didn't notice anything out of place when she was driving around either."_ The knowledge brought exasperated sounds from the rest of the team- except for one.

"Hmmm…"

_"What are you thinking, Raf?"_ the Boss urged.

"This sounds like a robbery gone wrong," the male mumbled. Outside of being covered in enough blood to make his stomach turn, the master bedroom wasn't speaking to him. There was no sign of where Sam or this woman and her son could be- or who was the one injured.

_"What makes you say that?"_

"Think about it- guy probably hung out around here for weeks, getting to know the place and the people living around here. Figured out when the most people would be out, the least amount of witnesses. Comes here to steal from this Rebecca chick only to be foiled by Sam. Tries to rob him as well and instead finds out he's a cop. That pretty much guarantees he's caught, which would make Sam a liability. He can't just let him go because Sam could ID him-"

"-So the guy panics and takes him," Ed finished for his teammate, looking over him and giving him a nod that said _'Good work.'_

"Makes sense," Greg conceded, but as he went to give 'new deal' orders based on this information, Spike interrupted him.

_"It would make sense if this guy's an idiot."_

Ed frowned, and after one more nod from Raf, the two began to head back down the stairs. "What are you talking about, Spike?"

_"If our guy sat and watched the neighborhood for weeks, he would know everyone's schedules, right? So why wouldn't he pick one of the empty houses?"_

His question was met by silence. Spike continued.

_"Natalie said that she has breakfast with Rebecca every Monday morning. So why would he decide to hit her house when he knows both the home owner and a guest would be around?"_

"Unless he was after Natalie," Jules considered aloud.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Greg agreed in a tone that almost sounded annoyed. He and Jules had finally reached the command truck again and sat at the computers, thinking over what they knew and how to proceed next. Or, at least, Greg was. Jules was playing over every conversation she had with Sam about their personal life, trying to find anything that could have slipped through the cracks. He had to have already given her the knowledge she needed to bring him home.

"Nah," Spike uttered as he stood in front of the fireplace, staring at a framed picture. He reached out and picked it up, looking down at the three people who had posed so happily together. The woman in the middle he recognized to be Rebecca from the picture Winnie had sent them. The red head was flanked by two blonde men, and while he couldn't positively ID the first one, the second grinning face was unmistakable.

"I don't think this is about Natalie at all."

XXXXX

Raf and Ed appeared behind Spike just as he spoke those words, and now all three of them examined the picture.

"That's Sam," Raf announced, a bit unnecessarily.

He was quickly greeted by an urgent female voice. _"What's Sam?"_

"Boss, we found a picture of Sam and Rebecca Walsh in the living room with an unidentified male. Looks like it's a couple years old," Ed narrated their findings over the radio.

Spike lifted a finger and pointed to the date printed in the lower right-hand corner of the photo. The information was partially cut off by the frame, but it was still legible enough to read. "2006, according to the timestamp."

Jules sat up a little and furrowed her brow. "Sam was serving a tour in Afghanistan in '06."

"So this would be his sendoff, then," Spike deduced from the tan and cameo uniforms both males were wearing in the picture. Things began to fall into place as they realized the background was an airport.

"Lemme see that," Ed preempted before taking the frame from his hands. His eyes squinted down at the picture, and a shiver ran cold down his back when he finally got a good look at the other male with Rebecca and Sam.

He had seen him before. Sam kept a picture of the two in his locker at the SRU. The first time Ed had ever seen it was back during the younger man's rookie days.

"_Maybe I was wrong, Sam. Maybe. But I need to know that my team is on my side."_

"_Then treat me like I'm on your team!"_

"_What?"_

"_You wanna know what happened in Afghanistan? Is that what this is about? … I was taking out targets in a stronghold, 1500 meters away. The reccy was done, I was cleared to fire. We went down to do the ID's, one of them was my buddy Matt. I was sniping with a .50 cal. He shouldn't have been there. I was cleared to fire… You just had to ask."_

Ed swallowed dryly as the memory ended. Both Spike and Raf had turned to watch his facial expressions to try and figure out why he was being so silent.

"What's going on, Eddie?" Greg's voice was heard. The team leader didn't answer right away, but he did reach into his pocket with his free hand to pull something out- dog tags he had found in the little boy's bedroom.

"Boss, we have a problem…"

* * *

**A/N**: Connections are slowly being made! Cheers to those of you who guessed he would be involved, but don't think you have everything figured out yet- things are far from over!


	9. Matt

**A/N**: I don't own Flashpoint or Sam Braddock. Don't remind me *grumble*

Your excitement about reading this story is what makes me excited to write it!

This is a pretty long chapter, but hang in there! I promise, it'll be worth it to stick through to the end. ;)

* * *

Inside the command truck, Greg frowned. "Talk to me, Eddie."

Instead of a response from his team leader, a female voice cut its way onto the radio frequency.

"_Boss, I found something."_

"Winnie, can this wait a moment? Now, Ed-"

"_Rebecca Walsh's name brings up a red flag in the courthouse's online system."_

Jules looked both confused and surprised, jumping in to answer. "But earlier you said she had no priors."

"_She doesn't. But late last week, she was at the court house."_

"For what?" Spike asked. For the moment, the photo was forgotten. Raf, who was holding the frame now, quickly snapped a picture of it for future reference and returned it to its place on the mantel. Ed stuck his hand back in his pocket, slipping the metal chain back into safe keeping for now. As Winnie gave her next answer, the trio exited the house.

"_Custody suit. Looks like she hasn't been the legal guardian of her son."_

Greg knew a thing or two about that. "But that changed last week?"

"_Yeah, full custody."_

"So, what- this is revenge about the case?" Jules wondered out loud. "She wins full custody and the father doesn't like it, so he comes to her house with a gun thinking that could somehow overrule a judicial order?"

"I don't think so, Jules," Winnie answered over the sound of her busy keyboard. A few more clicks and she had the full detail of the hearing in front of her. "According to the case file, custody was handed over amicably."

XXXXX

"Handed over? How does that even work?" Raf was asking the team. They had regrouped outside their caravan. There was nothing they could do until they got more information; there was no point in driving all over the city until they knew what to look for.

"Stranger things have happened," Greg started to explain. "If the two guardians can agree on who takes care of what, the question of custody can be resolved with little to no fighting. All they need is a court document to make it official and legal. In this case, it sounds like the father decided not to fight for custody and wanted to give her Ben. Am I right, Winnie?"

"_Almost,"_ the SRU desk clerk replied. _"It wasn't boy's father who was taking care of him."_

"Then who was it?" Jules interjected before Winnie had a chance to elaborate.

"It was…. the grandfather, Michael Bryan."

XXXXX

"So she won custody of her son from her own dad?" Ed huffed. In a way, though, it made sense. Rebecca had no job and no boyfriend to support her or her son. Often times, parents stepped in to help their children until they were ready.

"Michael Bryan is the paternal grandfather," Winnie corrected. She quickly began typing in anticipation of the next question. Spike was the one to ask it.

"So where's the boy's father in all this?"

"Well…." Winnie began and stopped. She frowned at the screen, and then tried to go about a different way of getting that information. Each attempt was met with failure.

"Winnie?" Greg repeated, thinking maybe they lost her. They didn't have time for this!

"Sorry, Boss. Ran into a problem. Looks like Ben's dad's military; his file is sealed." At the mention of the word _military_, Ed's fingers slipped back into his pocket, winding their way around the chain metal inside.

"Who does Ben's birth certificate say is the father?"

"Umm-"

"Matthew Bryan." Ed answered at the same time the woman on their headset did. All heads turned towards him. Greg hesitated a moment before speaking. His voice was quiet.

"That's what you found in the house, isn't it?"

Slowly, Ed pulled out the dog tags he had discovered earlier in a little blue bedroom in the upper level of the house. "Matt Bryan served with Sam overseas for one and a half tours." The team leader handed the chain over to Jules, who took a long, deep breath before she really wrapped her fingers around and grasped it. "They went to high school together; they pretty much grew up together. They both were deployed together, but only Sam came home."

_And technically, that was Sam's fault._

XXXXX

Almost all at once, Team One came to life again. They dispersed to their respective cars and tires screeched as they sped off.

"Winnie, get me the number and address for the Bryan residence."

"_Sending it now."_

"Any spouse for Bryan?"

"_Wife, Angela still lives with him."_

"I'm gonna want to talk to her. And have Team Three on stand bye. We made need their help."

"_Copy that."_

XXXXX

Thick boots pounded on the pavement as the entirety of Team One approached the front door of 2371 Edwards Lane. This was the last known address of Michael Bryan and his wife, Angelina, and their only lead in finding Sam. Jules reached the door first and knocked quickly.

"SRU! Michael Bryan, open up!"

There was a moment of silence before she heard footsteps moving through the hallway to the door. Once it was pulled open, a confused woman stood on the other side.

"Is there something wrong, officers?" she asked in a quiet voice. The little woman just looked sweet, and it broke Jules' heart to imagine what it must have been like for her to find out that her son wasn't coming home. It was probably as traumatic for her to find out that news as it was for Sam to discover that he was the reason why.

"Mrs. Bryan, my name is Sargent Greg Parker, and I'm with the SRU. We're looking for your husband, Michael. Is he home?" the Boss stepped up and introduced himself, aware that allowing anyone else to head this conversation could lead to something bad. Tensions were running high among the team with everyone second that passed without knowing where Sam was. At the moment, he could be objective.

"He was… You just missed him."

The team exchanged looks.

"How long ago was that?" Ed prompted.

Angela Bryan's eyes jumped from Greg's face to the taller, significantly scarier man's face. Her brow furrowed in worry. "Twenty minutes ago, I think? He dropped off Ben before he went to run an errand."

"Ben's here?" Spike spoke up, and the woman nodded and stepped back enough to reveal a small boy with blonde hair playing with trucks in the living room. Ben was making the noises he knew they made as he crashed them together over and over again, lost in his own world.

"Yes. Michael said that Rebecca was busy this morning and needed a babysitter. I think she might have a job interview, or that was supposed to happen sometime this week. She's been getting her life together so she could support Ben like she's always wanted to."

Raf cursed under his breath, and Mrs. Bryan looked startled in his direction. Spike elbowed his teammate and gave what he hoped would be reassuring smile.

"Michael spoke to Rebecca this morning?"

"Yes…" she answered slowly. "He told me he stopped over at Rebecca's this morning to see how Ben was settling in when she asked him to watch him for the morning. This is our grandson! Of course Michael wasn't going to say no."

"Michael was at Rebecca's today," Jules restated gravely as the last pieces began to reveal themselves. There was no question as to who had Sam now. From the sounds of it, he had Rebecca as well. But why?

"Yeah, what a stand-up guy," Raf scoffed at the same time Jules' spoke, earning another elbow from Spike, but this time, the elderly woman heard him.

"I'm sorry- what is going on?"

Greg gave his team a look, telling them to pull it together. He looked back to Mrs. Bryan and tried to keep what he was feeling from his face.

"Rebecca didn't ask your husband to watch Ben. In fact, we have reason to believe that your husband had something to do with the disappearance of both Rebecca and Constable Sam Braddock, who happens to be our teammate. For their sake, and your son's, we need your cooperation."

The woman in front of them gasped and her hand flew up over her open mouth. "Missing!"

XXXXX

On the outskirts of down, a maroon Lincoln slowed to a stop. The engine killed, and an older man climbed out of the driver seat. He ignored the muffled screams coming from the back seat and walked to the back of the car. For a moment, he thought to snap and yell at the person to stop kicking his door before he kicked them, but he refrained from doing so. He was done talking.

A hand slipped into the pocket of his jeans and pressed a button on his key chain, popping the trunk remotely. Once the door was open, he stepped up closer and stared down at the trunk's contents. The scent of stale blood hit his nose, and his eyes darkened.

XXXXX

"Can you tell me where your husband would go?" Greg had asked the woman urgently.

"This is important," Jules reminded in a strained voice- as if she needed to point that out!

"I-I-I don't know! He didn't say anything to me!" Mrs. Bryan stammered out. It was bad enough that the police came knocking at her door, but for it to be a SWAT team looking for her husband? The poor graying woman was frightened, and it was affecting her memory.

Ed stepped up closer to her, and the way his body towered over her left the woman cowering, intimidated. "W-Wait!"

"What?" the team leader hissed impatiently.

"There's a place… where Matty and Sam used to go in the summer before they went overseas."

"Show me."

XXXXX

_Huff, huff, huff._

The man panted heavily as he moved backwards through the open field. The grass was tall and almost completely hid what he was dragging, but every once in a while, if a person looked just hard enough, they would be able to see a tuff of pale golden hair- the same color as the dying grass that now surrounded them.

In the field was a lone birch, and the man dragged his treasure until he could feel the shadow of the tree on his back. He dropped his grip from the item he was carrying, and limp legs dropped to the ground with a thud. He glared at form at his feet, and even gave it a kick for good measure. With a grim smirk on his face, Michael Bryan began to walk away, back towards his car. There was something else there he still needed to retrieve.

* * *

**A/N**: Don't worry, Sammy! Team One's on the way! ... Wait, I don't think he can hear me.

:(


	10. Strawberry Fields Forever

**A/N**: Jam fans are the best fans! Had I been writing this story for any other fandom, I'd be hung, drawn and quartered by now.

* * *

"Sweetheart. Sweetheart?"

"Jules?" He opened his eyes slowly to the sight of her angelic face. A hand reached out to touch her, but no matter how far his arm stretched, he couldn't seem to reach her.

"That's right, it's me. Jules," she stared down at him expressionlessly. His hand fell back to his side and let out a sigh.

"Jules…" Every breath was shallow and labored. Every heartbeat was like a semi-truck impacting his chest. "…I'm tired."

'_Then let's get some rest.'_ He heard his voice reply, but it wasn't actually him responding. Not really. It was like an echo, a memory of a time before.

"You can't go to sleep, soldier." He frowned at the angel hovering over him. Why wouldn't she just lay down with him? Didn't she see how tired he was? He just wanted to sleep. Sleep made everything better…

"I'm coming for you, but you gotta give me some help. You gotta wake up, Sweetheart. Please, wake up…"

XXXXX

"Wake up!" Someone snapped loudly. The voice had been yelling for about five minutes, but he hadn't been conscious enough to recognize that fact until just now. It felt like every ounce of strength had been drained from his body. At the moment, there was nothing Sam wanted more than to go back to sleep.

Sam….. His name was Sam. Sam Braddock. He had gone to the dentist that morning. Damn, that stupid doctor didn't know when to shut up. Kinda like this voice right now… The voice was still growling at him, but he couldn't make out the words yet. He tried to open his eyes to see who was there, but the sunlight burned his retinas and he quickly closed them again. His head screamed at him from an injury he couldn't remember getting. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a dry moan could be heard. Where was he?

"Get up, you son of a bitch. Get up now!" The voice sounded agitated now, and the curse was accompanied with a swift kick into his gut. Sam cringed and crumpled, and his body instinctively rolled onto its side, away from the source of this new pain.

"Don't you try to get away from me, you bastard. Get up and face what you did for once in your sorry life!"

_Now_ Sam could understand the words, but his damaged mind still needed a little extra push to recognize who was talking to him.

As if she read his mind, a female voice cried out. "Mr. Bryan, leave him alone!"

That voice. Sam knew that voice. He knew he knew it. And the name the voice had used… A cold feeling settled over his body, though he wasn't sure if it was from the horrible realization or from the blood loss.

He licked his dry lips, and a single word sputtered off his tongue. "Rebecca."

As the name left his mouth, Sam was rewarded with another brutal kick- this time to his back, which was facing his attacker. Mr. Bryan. The defeated SRU officer let out a weak whimper as he felt more blood begin to pool under the surface of his skin.

"M-Matt…" he whispered hoarsely. Apparently, Sam spoke loud enough to catch the ear of his best friend's father, because the next thing he knew, there were two hands wrapped around the front of his dark grey tee to lift the poor beaten man to his feet.

"Don't you dare say his name," Michael Bryan spat into the dazed blonde's face. There was no way to tell what kind of injury had been done to his brain, but Sam had enough awareness to know that there was an injury and that was why he was dazed and hurt- probably a concussion.

"Just stop!" Rebecca cried out again from the shadows. "Why are you doing this?"

"Don't defend him!" the man snarled in her direction then looked back to Sam. His voice was oddly calm when he spoke again, almost in disbelief. "She doesn't know, does she?"

Sam's head started to roll to the side from his neck being unable to support it. When he squinted his vision, he could see a form under the tree. His and Matt's tree…. A closer look revealed Rebecca tied up against the base of the tree, fighting the binds holding her back. Despite the shadows that seemed to swallow her, Sam could see the fear in her eyes. This was all his fault.

Without a word, he barely shook his head. His captor glared and leaned in tighter.

"You're going to tell her everything."

XXXXX

The man kept his hands on Sam's shirt and used it to thrust him forward in the direction of the tree. As the men moved closer, Rebecca could see everything better- from the blood in Sam's hair and on his chin, to the stains on his shirt and pants. His shirt had several holes in it, but the blood from some unseen wound kept the material stuck to his stomach.

Sam wasn't wearing his socks or his shoes either, and for a moment, she wondered what happened to them. He had shoes on when they were at her house. When did he have time to take them off? _And why?_

"You have to let him go! You don't have to do this!" she started to plead. "You can have custody of Ben back! Is that what you want?"

"No, that's not what I want!" the older man barked at her, throwing Sam forward even more. Sam was forced to his knees, and even from that position, his body began to sway like it was ready to fall over.

"How dare you give up on your son like that!" their captor continued. "Don't you realize how good you have it? Why would you give up your son for scum like this who took mine away?!"

At first, Rebecca only heard the first part. Her shoulders hunched as the man who was supposed to be her father-in-law scolded at her. Even with Matt gone, the Bryans had been like family to her, taking care of her when she couldn't take care of herself.

But then his final words hit home.

_Took away mine._

Her eyes began to fill with tears as she hesitantly moved to scan's Sam's face for the truth. "S-Sam? …. I don't understand."

A silence fell over them, but Sam could swear he could hear satisfaction in the man's voice behind him.

"Tell her, Sammy. Tell her how you murdered my son from two kilometers away. Tell her how you killed him and then instead of taking responsibility, you had your daddy cover it up for you. Tell her how you killed her baby's father before he even knew he was going to be a dad. Tell her how the man you professed to be your best friend never made it home because of _you_."

XXXXX

"Boss, we're running out of time," Jules spoke quietly from her spot in the SUV. The team was on their way to the edge of town, to a place Mrs. Bryan had said was called 'Strawberry Fields.'

"_Sammy and Matty named it that after a similar field in Liverpool. They were going through their Beatles phase."_

"I know, Jules," Greg responded in an equally soft voice.

"If she says that they're here but they're not, there's a good chance tha-"

"They'll be there."

"But what if-" Her worried words were cut off by a look from her superior. The look said _It's gonna be okay_. Jules let out a sigh and nodded before looking down at her phone. While she was in the shower that morning, Sam had stolen her phone and changed her background. The background used to be one of the default images- blue textural swirls, nothing fancy. Thanks to Sam, there was now a picture of the two of them.

Jules didn't even remember it ever being taken nor who could have taken it. Sam was grinning triumphant and pulling her close with a pink stuffed elephant in his hand. She had a scowl on her face because she hadn't done very well at the stupid carnie shooting game. Those things were rigged! There was no way Sam should have been able to win- especially after _she_ had lost.

They looked so happy, though. If she concentrated hard enough, she could still hear his cocky laughter that day as he teased her for pouting. _I'd do anything to go back to that place. Sam… I'm so sorry._

"We'll get to them," Greg assured again, breaking Jules from her thoughts. Before she could answer, though, Ed's voice cracked through on the headsets.

"Boss, got a visual on our subject."

"And Sam?" As Sargent Parker asked the question, the sight came into view for them as well. Jules inhaled sharply at what she saw just as the team leader answered.

"Bryan's got him on his knees, gun to the back of his head. Executioner's style."

* * *

**A/N**: Poor Jules. :( Poor Sam! Time is running out, my friends. How in the hell is Team One going to pull this off without any causalities? Or pull it off at all, I suppose... Revenge makes even the smartest men blind.


	11. Head Wounds for Memories

**A/N**: I don't own Flashpoint or any of its components- only my own creativity. Thank you, as always, to BeautifulFghtr and SYurri for feeding my muse, and thank you to all of you for the reviews and the patience!

* * *

Sam felt the cold metal the moment it pressed up against the back of his head, but the flinch he gave wasn't from the weapon's temperature. His captor had pushed his gun against the wound from earlier in the day- the wound Sam never saw coming.

XXXXX

_Earlier That Day_

"Um, hey, Nat, I am so sorry. I just realized I can't do breakfast this morning. Raincheck for tomorrow?"

"Uh, sure, Becca…" Natalie said slowly, glancing between the woman and her brother, who had just joined the scene. Sam's face was red, though whether that was from him being flustered or from him walking to the house was yet to be determined.

"Great. I'll see you then!" Rebecca grinned and stood up, giving the woman a hug before she left. As Natalie walked past her older brother, she punched his shoulder playfully.

"Call me later?" she requested in a quiet tone. He responded with a subtle nod, earning a grin from Natalie. She kissed his cheek and left, leaving the other two alone in the kitchen.

Even without Natalie there, the room still had an air of discomfort. Rebecca took a step forward and stopped, as if she was waiting to see what he would do. Sam matched her movement, and then the next thing he knew, she was there in his arms. He wrapped his embrace around her tightly and felt her own arms squeeze his torso in response.

A giggle escaped her lips and it caused him to grin. Sam knew that she hadn't been happy in a very long time. He was glad to hear that things were turning around for her- in fact, that was, in a way, why he was there.

Keeping her in his arms, Sam pulled back enough to look down at her. "How did the weekend go?"

Rebecca nodded a few times before answering. "It was an adjustment for both of us." She paused and furrowed her brow. "Do you think he's going to like it here?"

"Like it?" Sam repeated back, grinning softer. "You're his mother, Becs. He's loved you his entire life, whether he lived with you or not. He spent nine months inside you, with you loving him and taking care of him." He leaned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "This is an adjustment- just like you said. Give it a little time."

He felt her sigh against him; she was giving in. Rebecca could be stubborn. It took a certain kind of person to be able to handle her. For a long time, the only person who could was Matt. Sam felt a pang of loss as he thought about his best friend and the girl who had to live her life without him now. It was Sam's fault that Rebecca was a single mother, and there were some days when he just didn't know how to deal with it.

For that reason alone, the pair had grown apart. Poor sweet Rebecca thought it was because of the war and losing Matt, and because of that, she had been so understanding. She had no idea what really happened over there, and out of some respect for veterans, she hadn't asked. Part of Sam wished she did; he just wanted the truth out in the open. There was just something stopping him from bringing it up himself. Rebecca had a hard enough time as it was- if he could do anything to stop it from getting worse, he would.

"Ready to meet him?" her voice came soft and sweet, a light in his dark thoughts. Sam dropped his arms from around her and nodded. She took his hand and began to lead him through the house.

"You think he'll like me?" Sam asked as they walked side by side up the stairs. He knew he shouldn't feel nervous to meet a kid that wasn't even his, but he wanted to make a good impression. This was Matt's _son_, after all. That made him the most special little boy in the whole world.

Rebecca gave an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me? You're fun Uncle Sam! And you don't even have the gross white beard!" She tugged on his chin playfully, and Sam swatted her hand away.

"Not yet, anyway!" he winked, gaining another bought of laughter from her.

"You and Jules ever think about starting a family?"

The question took Sam by surprise, though in reality, it probably shouldn't have. While he and Rebecca weren't close anymore, she had still reached out to him through the years. And yes, she knew about Jules. When their conversations didn't revolve around Matt or his son- who Rebecca insisted was already a genius, the two friends talked about the sexy sniper chick who had single-handed changed Sam Braddock's outlook on life. Through all the ups and down, Rebecca was there behind the scenes. When Sam couldn't vent his frustrations or his desires to his teammates, he had turned to his only remaining friend. She had talked him through everything- from the night Jules jumped off the media tower at the mall to save a lost girl to the 'I love you' he heard just as Jules broke his heart. Every time the job had been chosen over him, Rebecca gave him perspective.

"_Girls like Jules- they love at arms' length. Just be there for her, Sammy. She's scared, scared of what she's feeling, scared of admitting to herself that she actually has these feelings. Love is confusing for everyone. Hell, you didn't even believe it existed until she came along. Trust me, it will be worth it."_

And it was. Boy, was it worth it! The happiness Sam felt when he was with Jules had no equal. What would he do if someone else came along because of that love?

Sam felt his cheeks flushing, and he quickly dodged his eyes away from her. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it, yanno? A nurse placing a little pink bundle into my arms. I look down, and all I can think about is how beautiful she is and how I'm gonna love her forever. She looks just like her mom…" He quickly cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. "I know you haven't met Jules, but you know enough about her to guess how she would react to maternity leave."

Rebecca had to chuckle as she watched him. Sam really didn't know what he gave away in his face. To some, it wouldn't be as noticeable. For someone like her, who had known him since their childhood, he was like her favorite James Rollins book- open and interesting to read.

Before she could make any snarky comment, they arrived outside the door leading to a little blue room. Inside was a boy with golden hair, Rebecca's green eyes, and a smile he could have only inherited from his father.

"Ben? D'you remember Uncle Sam?"

XXXXX

_Present Time_

The mouth of the gun pressed more into his hair, into a swollen goose egg on his head. Staring into those eyes, so scared and confused, Sam had never hated himself more. Each and every shot he had ever taken, Sam carried with himself. Each had their own different fallout, but none like that fateful day in the desert. Now, it appeared, he would finally face his well-deserved punishment.

Sam swallowed to no avail. His lips and throat were so dry that he could barely make a sound. The order came from behind him once more.

"Tell. Her."

The older man's grip was firm on the firearm. He had already used it several times that day, and showed no signs of shying away now. Rebecca was mumbling something about not understanding, though Sam was only half listening to that. There were other things occupying his attention.

Like the sound of the SUV he drove on shift every day pulling up a hundred feet behind him. _Jules_. Sam closed his eyes and offered up thanks to whoever was looking down on him.

XXXXX

_That Morning_

"He's a special kid, Becs."

"That he is," Rebecca agreed with a warm smile. The pair was standing in the master bedroom, looking at the pictures that adorned the dresser in the corner. Ben's smiling face covered every single picture in every single frame except one. In this lone photo, Braddock and Bryan, the pride of Canada's Joint Task Force stood proudly outside their camp in Kandahar. It was the last thing for Matt to send to her while he was overseas, and it was also the last picture the two best friends would ever be in.

Sam kept his eyes on that one, somber and serious as he looked into a face he would only see in photos now. Some days, it didn't feel real. Other days, like today, it felt _too_ real.

"He loved you, you know," she said softly, catching his attention.

For a moment, Sam gave her that same sober look he had given the frame, but then managed to grin- even if only slightly. "Naw. He _liked_ me. He loved you. He missed you like hell when we were over there…" His voice died off at the end, and like before on the stairs, Sam had to glance away. This time, it was for a totally different reason.

When he did turn his eyes to her again, the dull pain had washed away, or rather, he hid it. "There are so many things I can't wait to teach Ben. Going camping, playing chess, firing a gun, picking up girls-"

"-Oh no! You are not turning my son into a mini Braddock! That's why you have your own offspring!" Rebecca laughed, but was only half kidding. She knew what kind of guy Sam was before Jules made him honest. No way was her baby boy going to end up like that! "I won't have you turning my son into some womanizer!"

The two old friends were laughing and joking with each other so loudly that they didn't hear a third party enter the room. It felt like something exploded behind him as the butt of the older man's pistol can crashing down on his head, knocking him to the floor. Rebecca's hand flew to her mouth as she screamed in surprise and watched the metal crash down on Sam's skull again.

Before Sam blacked out, he could just barely hear the words his unseen attacker uttered. _"I will __**not**__ let you take him away from me too."_

XXXXX

_Present Time_

At the trucks, the team piled out quickly, and it was hard not to rush right into the situation.

"I'm not losing a man today, Greg."

"No one's losing anyone, Eddie."

Ed and the Sarge were having a difference in opinion as to how to tackle this situation. Even though Ed was technically tactical leader, Greg often had important intel and opinions that would help shape the attack plan.

Knowing there was no time to argue, Ed finally relented. "Fine. Raf, you swing out wide left. I'll go right. We wanna approach from behind and see if we can't get Rebecca out of there before Mr. Bryan escalates again."

"He's already escalated," Spike was quick to point out, earning a disapproving look from the team leader.

"Spike, you go with them too. Wide open field, nowhere to hide except that tree. I want you approaching directly from the back, behind the tree. Raf and Ed, Sierras."

"Copy."

"Copy."

"Got it, Boss."

"What about me?" Jules asked. The whole team knew about her relationship with Sam. It hadn't been a secret for a long time. She was keenly aware that if Greg had it his way, she would be out of this operation; she would stay in the command truck until Sam was safe and the situation was contained. The whole team knew, however, that this wasn't possible.

"I want you as my second," Greg replied. "Grab a shield." His order was met with silence- she was already sprinting to the truck to retrieve the equipment he asked for.

XXXXX

"Tell her!" The man shouted, unknowingly turning the heads of the SRU officers already on scene. Sam was bobbing in and out of consciousness, and while he knew what he was supposed to do, he couldn't seem to get his lips to move. It was like there were wires crossed upstairs. He couldn't get himself to speak.

The gun trembled against his skull for a moment as he heard Mr. Bryan cock the gun. When he spoke again, his voice was low, lethal. "Tell her, or she'll have the pleasure of watching your brains blown out right before her."

"Sam!" The desperate plea rang through again. Rebecca must be so confused and lost. Sam knew that he needed to apologize to her about this one day… If only he had that one day.

"Michael Bryan!" A loud, familiar voice boomed through the field thanks to a megaphone. Team One was closing in.

"Boss…" Sam wheezed, and was promptly kicked in the back for the third time in the past 10 minutes. He slumped forward, face first into the grass. At the same time, Michael snapped his head in the direction of the new voice. 50 feet away, Greg, accompanied by Jules, moved towards the scene.

"My name is Sargent Greg Parker, and I'm with the Police Strategic Response Unit. Let's talk."

* * *

**A/N**: It appears that Team One's arrived just in time to "keep the peace!" All Michael seems to want is the truth- right? If Sam tells Matt's widow the truth, maybe this will all blow over... hopefully.

And to all those who asked- Rebecca was Matt's girlfriend before he went to war. They never got to exchange vows or anything like that, but he had plans to ask for her hand. :/


	12. The Truth Will Set You Free

**A/N**: I seriously cannot get over last night's EPISODE OH GEEZ! AHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while! School and problems with my dad got the best of me and I didn't have that urge to write for a while. I guess finally getting some good news about Jam (that the writers finally followed through with) prompted this update. This story is far from over! There's a lot more I want to tell, and I'm excited that so many people are eager to know what happens next. I hope I don't let you guys down!

Flashpoint isn't mine, but I wish Sam was.

* * *

If Sam had full control of his cognitive abilities, he'd be embarrassed at his current predicament. It was bad enough that an older man had gotten the drop on him and basically kidnapped him- now that his girlfriend had arrived to rescue him, he was face down in the grass with his ass up in the air towards her. Not exactly a flattering position!

All he could think about, though, was Rebecca. She had to be so scared. If he had just admitted the truth to her a long time ago, this could have all been avoided. Hell, if he had just not taken that damn shot, there would have never been any reason for this situation to occur.

_Matt, I'm so sorry_, Sam thought quietly to himself. He wouldn't speak anymore- not unless he was prompted to. The pain that talking brought was not worth it, and he knew that if he lost anymore blood, he would lose consciousness again. It was time to put his faith in the Boss and the rest of his team to get him out of there.

XXXXX

"Talk?!" the older man hissed over his shoulder, keeping his gun trained on the back of Sam's head. "I don't want to _talk_! Not to you people- you're the ones who continue to cover and forgive what he did just because he's one of your own!"

"Okay, okay," Greg put both hands up from behind the safety of Jules' shield. With his sidearm in one hand, the pair continued to carefully approach the subject. If they got too close, he could begin to feel claustrophobic (yes, even in a field like this one) and begin popping off shots. There was still a civilian tied up in harm's way, and from where they stood, there was no way to tell how much damage Sam had taken already.

Greg brought his hands together and pulled out the clip to his gun. "Mr. Bryan? I'm just gonna put this down, okay? So we can talk." He showed both pieces to the subject before slowly moving to set them on the ground.

The older man narrowed his eyes unamused as he shifted his body more in their direction. "So what? I know you have at least two trained snipers on me, ready to take the shot if my finger gets a little too inchy on this trigger!"

Greg and Jules exchanged glances. Not two seconds before, both Ed and Raf had announced that they were in position, and Spike was slowly closing in. His job was to see if he could free Rebecca from her bonds, but as Spike got a better look at what he was dealing with, he realized he couldn't do it on his own.

"Raf, I'm gonna need your help over here. This guy's really jumpy; I don't want to lower my guard or my gun in case he turns this way."

"Copy that. Ed, you good?"

"Go."

"Copy. Spike, I'm on my way." The dark figure on the left started shifting through the grass at a slow pace, heading in a roundabout way to the tree and to Spike. Though Sam's injuries were presumably more severe, he was still an SRU officer and could (for the most part) take care of himself. Getting the civilian out of harm's way would open up the playbook more.

XXXXX

"I don't want anyone to get hurt here today, Mr. Bryan." Greg called out to the distressed older man. Michael was standing sideways, keeping Rebecca and Greg in the corners of his eyes. His body was facing Ed, even though the sniper's post was mostly hidden from view in the tall grass. Michael had his gun pointed down, though the sight wasn't much comfort with Sam's battered form crumpled at his feet. "How about you tell me about my guy? Is he okay?"

"You mean Constable _Braddock_?" the older man sneered, nudging at his captive with a steel-toed boot. Sam could only wheeze as the pain shot through him again. Hearing the sound, Jules took a half-step forward, but Greg reached out and stopped her, communicating with his eyes to keep their distance.

"He's alive, which is more than I can say for my _son_."

"I know about your son, Matt. He was a brave man."

"-A good man!"

"A very good man," Greg agreed, taking a slow step forward. The subject's body language was erratic and out of control, a definite red. There was no way to tell how much time they had before he went to the point of no return. They needed to secure Sam and Rebecca before that happened. "And what do you think he'd say if he saw you now? Rebecca is the woman who brought your grandson into this world. From what your wife has told us, he's a carbon copy of his father."

"I just want her to know the truth!" the man snapped back before Parker could go on any further. "I want this pile of trash to stop lying and finally tell her the truth!" Michael's shaky hand brought the barrel of the gun towards Sam's head again. "Tell her!"

"Sam," another voice spoke up. It sounded desperate, pleading. Spike cringed and took refuge behind the tree, Raf at his side. Rebecca's interjection brought the attention of her captor towards the trio, which nearly blew the two officers' cover. She wasn't thinking about that right now, though. All she was thinking about was this being over. Michael wanted the truth, and if he got it, maybe he would leave them alone.

With her wrists freed from the help of Raf, she stepped away from the trunk of the tree towards the site. Immediately, Michael pointed his gun at her, causing both Raf and Spike to step around from behind with their own lifted weapons. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't take his sights off of her.

"Sam," she urged again until he finally looked up, squinting through the sunlight at her. Rebecca glanced at the countless men around her holding guns and swallowed hard. "Just tell me what's going on. What about Matt don't I know?"

Her question caused a thousand emotions to run through Sam. The only indication on the outside was the way his blue (and blood-shot) eyes darkened. This moment had been a long one coming, and though he never imagined it to be this way, there was no going back now. Michael had his gun on her and with the way he was standing anxiously, his finger could slip, and they would lose another person. There would be even more blood on his hands, and that was something he couldn't stand.

The two friends stared at each other as the rest of the world disappeared. Time stood still and it was only then that Sam realized he had been holding his breath. He licked his lips slowly and fought against the urge to look away from her. "The sniper who killed him over there..." he began hoarsely. Rebecca nodded her head slowly, her vision filling with tears.

"It was me."

Team One watched as the widow processed the information. Sam tried to see in her expression how she was feeling- he imagined hurt, angry, furious- but the woman did an unusually good job of hiding it. She didn't answer him, didn't respond to his words at all. Instead, her gaze left his and moved to the man holding a gun on her. Tears streamed down the older man's angry face.

Rebecca walked the rest of the way towards the bloody scene, her unsteady and yet determined. Sam kept his eyes on her as long as he could, but when she walked past him to the man towering about him, he could look no longer. His neck ached, and he had to drop his head to the ground once more. With the one ear that wasn't clogged with blood, he heard her softly spoken words to her son's grandfather.

XXXXX

"Boss, we can't just stand here and watch this happen," Spike hissed into his radio. He and Raf had kept to the shadows of the tree with their weapons trained on the subject.

"Can you hear what's going on?" Jules asked.

"Sam just admitted to it being his fault Matt is dead."

A sharp exhale could be heard over channel 3. It accurately described how they were all feeling.

"How is she taking it?" Greg asked, the question directed towards Ed. The team leader had the best view of the whole scene through the scope of his rifle.

"She's taking to Michael... I can't tell what they're saying but it looks like they're not agreeing on something... Michael looks more upset than she is... She's reaching out for him. Body language suggests that she's trying to reason with him."

"'She doin' our job for us?" Raf mused aloud. From their position under the tree, it looked like Rebecca was trying to talk down Michael.

Greg asserted the observation. "Well, if anyone could get through to him, it would be her. They've been through a lot together after the death of his son."

"I don't like not hearing what they're saying," Jules mumbled wearily. The stress was starting to take a toll on her, especially when all she wanted to do was rush out there and make sure Sam still had a pulse.

"Hold up a second."

Instinctively, Jules glanced in Ed's direction, even though she was exactly sure where in the grass he was. "What is it, Ed?"

"He's handing over his gun to her."

Sure enough, right before her eyes, Jules witnessed the subject willingly hand over his weapon to the woman he had taken hostage. Michael lifted both hands up in the air in surrender as Rebecca wrapped her other hand around the handle of the gun. She let out a sigh of relief and bowed her head, allowing herself a moment to feel the relief that this was over and they could get to Sam. It was shortlived, though, as Ed's voice crackled through on the radio again.

"We've got a problem."

XXXXX

_"Now you know the truth."_

_"Mr. Bryan, give me the gun."_

_"You know he has to die!"_

_"This isn't the way!"_

_"I'm gonna kill that bastard face to face so he knows it's coming instead of the cowardly way he shot my Matthew in the back!"_

_"Matt wouldn't want that and you know it. **Please**."_

_"Braddock deserves it!"_

_"I'm begging you, don't!"_

_"So what do you suggest we do about him?"_

_"Let me do it."_

* * *

**A/N**: Well that escalated quickly.

Your reviews are like herbal tea and bubble wrap.


	13. The Solution

**A/N**: So this is long overdue... Thanks to all the positive reviews and the messages (both on tumblr and here) encouraging me to continue!

You know the drill- Flashpoint isn't mine, but I wish Sam was. Et cetera, et cetera.

* * *

Jules couldn't believe what she was seeing. In that moment, she realized that they never really had control over the situation. And she was angry, too. Angry at Sam. He had walked into a situation without telling anyone on the team. If it wasn't for Natalie, they never would have found him. And now, he was laying on the ground, bleeding to death. It was absolutely his fault. He should have come straight to work after his appointment instead of disappearing on her like that. How could he do this to her?!

Of course, Jules wasn't really mad at Sam- she was just scared. She had fought against every instinct in falling in love with Sam. He had worked her so hard, and it had gotten to a point where she simply couldn't resist him anymore. After everything they had been through, it _couldn't_ end like this.

In her mind, she made a decision. During the weeks that would follow, this moment of choice would stick out in her mind. Did she do the right thing? Could she have avoided what happened next had she acted differently?

XXXXX

Sam was gone. Not literally, but mentally. The amount of blood-loss and trauma had finally forced his military-trained body to shut down. What he needed was a hospital bed and a good, long rest. He just hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long. _Well, it won't feel like long to me._

"Now you know the truth."

"Mr. Bryan, give me the gun."

"You know he has to die!"

"This isn't the way!"

"I'm gonna kill that bastard face to face so he knows it's coming instead of the cowardly way he shot my Matthew in the back!"

"Matt wouldn't want that and you know it. _Please_."

"Braddock deserves it!"

"I'm begging you, don't!"

"So what do you suggest we do about him?"

"Let me do it."

There was a shift in the older man's eyes as he watched the woman before her. She had an outrageous amount of strength inside her, strength she had shown ever since the day the Bryans told her about Matt. He saw something different there today, though. It was as if she had finally woke up after being faced with the truth. A man who pretended to be her friend for all these years was really just a criminal feeling guilty for his crime- but not guilty enough to actually accept the consequences. Well, today that guilt would finally be washed away. Sam Braddock would finally pay for what he had done.

Without any further hesitation, Michael turned the gun in his hand, gripping the barrel and offering the handle towards the blonde. Rebecca reached out and took the weapon with both hands, her fingers immediately tightening around the metal. Turning on a heel, she faced the crumpled remains of Constable Sam Braddock at her feet. There's a single trace of a tremor as she lifted the barrel, aiming right at his temple.

XXXXX

"Eddie, status?"

"I've got the solution."

"Sierra Two; I have the solution." Raf spoke up from his place beside Spike under the shadow of the tree.

"Hold your positions, Sierras," Sargent Parker urged into the mike. He glanced wearily towards his second in command, and took a deep breath. "Jules, fall back."

"What?" she asked in disbelief, pulling her eyes off the scene for the first time since they got there. "But S- the first hostage is still out there and now the other has the gun!"

"You've been compromised, Jules. You didn't do anything wrong, but for the safety of all those involved, I need you to pull back."

"Boss, please. Just let me try," she pleaded. He didn't like the idea of gambling with anyone's life, most especially one of his teammates'. At the same time, Greg trusted Jules; he trusted her instinct. Throughout time dating Sam, there had always been close calls on the job, but never once did her feels get in the way of doing what she had to do. Finally, he nodded, and Jules let out a sigh.

"Rebecca?" she called out gently, stepping forward out of the protection of the shield (having handed it off to Greg). "My name is Jules Callaghan and I'm with the SRU. Listen, I know you think you have to do this, But I'm asking you not to."

"Stay out of it, bitch!" The older man spat out, but it appeared the woman beside him was listening. Her head moved, throwing her gaze over her shoulder at the officer behind her.

Jules continued. "What happened to Matt was a horrible tragedy. He was a brave man who was loved by all who knew him. Know how I know that?" Her head nodded towards Sam as she did her best to ignore the lurch in her heart. "Sam told me. And ever since the day the world lost Matt, Sam has done everything he could to fill the gap. I don't mean like trying to take his place in your life or your son's life." Tears began to spill out of Rebecca's eyes. "Matt protected people for a living, and Sam has continued his legacy not only protecting them, but saving them."

"Yeah, like when he murdered my son!"

"Rebecca, please." She took another step towards them. "You know what it's like to lose the man you love. Out there, there is a woman who feels the same way about Sam that you do about Matt. No one deserves to feel the pain you're feeling right now. Do you really want to make someone else suffer like this?

Rebecca hadn't moved, but the sight spot on the weapon in her hand was no longer pointed in a lethal direction. Though she was still several feet away, the look of sad thoughtfulness could be seen on the woman's face. "Jules..."

Recognition.

"Wait, _you're_ Jules," she exclaimed, turning completely to face the other woman. One hand fell away from the gun and hung at her side as she stared. "Sam's Jules!" A small smile broke on the constable's face. "Yeah, that's right."

And that's when the moment broke.

"Enough!" Michael roared, gripping roughly on Rebecca's wrist to bring her to him. "If you won't finish the job for _Matthew_, I will!"

"Mr. Bryan, no!" Jules hollered. In her ear, she could hear the boss asking for the solution, receiving two negative responses.

XXXXX

"They're moving too much; I can't get a clear shot."

In the center of the field, a struggle had started. Both parties were fighting for the gun, and to all those present, it was obvious which was subject and which was the victim. With four hands on the pistol, Rebecca and Michael rocked back and forth like a game of tug of war. Jules sprinted forward to try to break up the chaos. All it would take was one slip of the finger, and Sam would be dead- if he wasn't already from bloodloss.

Just as she arrived and reached out to grab the older man, a shot was discharged. A body dropped to the ground, landing mere inches away from Sam's face.

* * *

**A/N**: Cliché, I know. Also cliffhanger, I know. I prefer to think of it as... a commercial break.


End file.
